How to Write 泸 (lú) — Meaning “Lu (name of a river or place)”

Imagine a river (氵) flowing past a sign that says 'Lu' (卢) to remember 泸. You can also think of it as 'Lu's river,' connecting the sound and the water radical.

Start with the three dots of 氵 on the left, then write 卢: first the left vertical stroke, then the horizontal with a hook, and finally the two inner strokes. Keep 卢 slightly narrower than the radical so the character looks balanced and doesn't become too wide.

泸 has 卢 (lu) on the right, while 汊 (chà) has 叉 (fork) and means a branch of a river, and 㳄 (xián) has 次 and is an old variant for saliva. Visually, 泸 has a roof-like top on its right side, unlike the other two.

泸 appears mainly in place names like 泸州 (Luzhou, a city in Sichuan) and 泸定桥 (Luding Bridge), a historic iron chain bridge from the Long March. It is not used as a common word alone, so you will encounter it mostly in geography or historical contexts.

Common words containing 泸 include: 泸州 (lú zhōu) — Luzhou (a city in Sichuan); 泸水 (lú shuǐ) — Lu River; 泸定桥 (lú dìng qiáo) — Luding Bridge.